WOW! well done everyone who had a go at our Modal Verbs Quiz, including those of you who are too shy to post your answers … yes, we know you’re out there.

So, let’s see how you got on shall we? Here are the solutions:

… uno di questi giorno dovremo lavare la macchina …

A. dovere = to have to

relevant articles: I Must Study Italian and I Should Have Studied Italian

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. uno di questi giorno dovremo lavare la macchina = one of these days we’ll have to wash the car
2. Mario ha dovuto cancellare l’appuntamento dal dentista = Mario had to cancel the dentist’s appointment
3. sarei dovuta arrivare alle sette, ma c’era lo sciopero dei treni = I should have arrived at seven, but the trains were on strike
4. temo che Marco e Giulia debbano anticipare il rientro dalle vacanze = I’m afraid that Marco and Giulia have to cut their holidays short (go home from their holidays early)
5. pensavo che tu dovessi restare in ospedale più a lungo = I thought you had to stay in hospital longer

Translate the following sentences into Italian:
6. you (singular) must remember to phone Giorgio = devi ricordarti di telefonare a Giorgio
7. I should have revised the Italian modal verbs = avrei dovuto ripassare i verbi modali italiani
8. it’s a pity that Mario had to go back to work = è un peccato che Mario sia dovuto tornare al lavoro.

B. potere = to be able to

relevant articles: I Could Study Italian and I Could Have Studied Italian

Translate the following sentences into English:
1. potreste comprare del pane, per piacere? = could you buy some bread, please?
2. non ho potuto portare Annalisa alla festa perché si è rotta la macchina = I couldn’t take Annalisa to the party because the car broke down
3. saremmo potuti arrivare prima se non ci fosse stato lo sciopero dei treni = we could have arrived earlier if the trains hadn’t been on strike
4. Maria potrà restare solo per un’oretta = Maria will only be able to stay for about an hour
5. ci farebbe molto piacere se tu potessi andare a visitare il nonno = we would be really pleased if you could go and visit grandfather

Translate the following sentences into Italian:
6. could you (singular) phone me later? = potresti telefonarmi più tardi?
7. if only I could buy a house near the sea! = se solo potessi comprare una casa al mare!
8. Maria and Luisa weren’t able to come because they had troubles with their car = Maria e Luisa non sono potute venire perché hanno avuto problemi con la macchina.

C. volere = to want to

relevant articles: I Want to Study Italian and I Would Have Liked To Study Italian

Translate the following sentences into English:
1. Luisa non vuole venire al ristorante perché non si sente bene = Luisa doesn’t want to come to the restaurant because she’s not feeling well
2. avrei voluto prendere il treno delle otto, ma ho fatto tardi in ufficio = I would have liked to catch the eight o’clock train, but I was late at the office
3. l’anno scorso volevamo andare in Sicilia = last year we wanted to go to Sicily
4. credevo che tu volessi vedere la partita stasera = I thought you wanted to watch the match this evening
5. pensi che Luisa voglia cenare con noi? = do you think Luisa would like to have dinner with us?

Translate the following sentences into Italian:
6. Luisa wanted to try the ice cream from the new bar = Luisa voleva/ha voluto provare il gelato del nuovo bar
7. Maria e Giorgio would have liked to go Sicily, but their son was unwell = Maria e Giorgio sarebbero voluti andare in Sicilia, ma loro figlio non stava bene
8. we would like to know if there are some tickets left for the concert (two possible translations for ‘we would like’) = vorremmo/volevamo sapere se ci sono ancora dei biglietti per il concerto.

Allora, com’è andato? Se avete bisogno di una mano, basta mandarci un messaggio, va bene?